


Means to an End

by semperama



Series: Tumblr Ficlets - Pinto [14]
Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: M/M, Praise Kink, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-12-01 08:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11482761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/semperama/pseuds/semperama
Summary: Zach is being abnormally nice. Chris doesn't trust it.





	Means to an End

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the rare word prompt "veteratorian: crafty, subtle."

“Those jeans look good on you.”

Chris looks down at his legs—his long, skinny legs that sometimes don’t feel like they fit right on his body—and frowns. “Hmm? Really?” he says, then looks back up at Zach. “I don’t know. If you say so, dude.”

Zach lifts an eyebrow and a shoulder in tandem. “I just mean they fit well. You should wear them more often.”

Maybe it’s just meant as an offhand comment, but Chris can’t help but take it to heart. When he gets a moment alone, he goes into the bathroom and stands in front of the mirror and turns this way and that, craning his neck to see over his shoulder. If he stands all the way back by the shower, he can see his legs down to his knees. They still look too skinny to him though. Spindly. Unappealing. Negative adjectives shoot through his head until he closes his eyes and forces himself to turn away from the mirror. Zach wouldn’t lie to him, would he?

The compliments keep coming though, steadily but not overtly, like Zach doesn’t even know he’s doing it. The next day it’s, “You’re going to have to tell me more about this workout you’re doing, man. Your arms look incredible.” A few days after that, “I like your hair like this,” complete with fingers that scratch playfully along his scalp for a moment. And then, after Chris finishes rambling on about the last book he’s read, “Has anyone ever told you it’s not fair to be pretty and smart at the same time? Take it down a notch, Pine.”

It’s not that Zach has never complimented him before. In fact, any other person might not even notice all the praise. Chris feels a little silly when, every single time, the blood rushes to his face and his stomach does a little backflip. All the signs seem to say that Zach doesn’t even notice what he’s doing, as the compliments roll off his tongue like they mean nothing at all, and moments later he’ll be on to the next topic of conversation. So why does it feel so significant? Why can’t Chris get all the words out of his head? Why does he find himself looking in the mirror and trying to see himself through Zach’s eyes?

“No one wears a suit like you do, man,” Zach says to him one evening, when they’re somewhere in Europe, Chris forgets where, he’s too busy reeling from this latest bit of admiration. They have to be downstairs to head to the premiere in just a few minutes, and Zach swung by Chris’s room first so they could go down together. Chris opened the door, expecting some teasing for taking so long to get ready, but instead he has been treated to more off-hand praise. Suddenly, it’s too much.

“What?” he blurts.

Zach obviously didn’t expect to be questioned, because his lips purse for a moment, a subtle nervous gesture that anyone else might miss. “I said you look good,” he says. “Really good.”

They are standing in the doorway of Chris’s room. Something about that should bother Chris, but he’s too single-minded now, determined to figure out what’s going on. “You’re being weird lately. You’re saying weird shit.”

“Weird shit?” Zach’s eyebrows go up, all faux innocence.

“Nice shit,” Chris says, then winces. “Abnormally nice.”

“I’m not allowed to be nice to you now?”

“You?” Chris says. “No.”

Zach sighs, like he’s giving up. “Look, you can pretend you don’t like it if you want, but I have eyes, Chris. I’ve seen the way you eat it up.”

Chris feels pinned. His stomach foregoes its usual flip and launches into an Olympic-level tumble routine instead. So Zach knew all along. He knew what it was doing to him. “You…you’ve been doing it on purpose?”

“Oh my God.” Zach rolls his eyes, and somehow just that sight, Zach’s exasperation, tells Chris exactly what’s going to happen next. His hands have already made their way to Zach’s chest, to clutch at his lapels, when their mouths meet. It’s the barest hint of a kiss, Zach’s mouth as gentle and cajoling and comforting as everyone one of his compliments. When it’s over, he stays close, like he wants to kiss Chris again, more, harder, but he’s just barely not letting himself. “You really are the world’s biggest idiot.”

“Hey,” Chris breathes. “What happened to being nice?”

“Hmm,” Zach hums. His mouth brushes feather-light against Chris’s again. “I’ve been waiting to taste these perfect lips for a long, long time.”

That, Chris thinks, is better.


End file.
